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Donkey Kong high score competition


The world record high score for the video game Donkey Kong has been a competitive contest since the game's release in 1981. The competition grew in prominence from its appearance as a central plot element in the 2007 documentary The King of Kong. The Verge reported that competitors spend thousands of hours practicing the video game. The competitors are not sponsored by large companies.

The Telegraph wrote that the game's interpersonal rivalries contribute to the competition's appeal. The film The King of Kong focused on the competition between arcade game record holder Billy Mitchell and teacher and former Boeing engineer Steve Wiebe.

Mitchell and Wiebe began to compete with Hank Chien, a plastic surgeon from New York. In March 2010, Chien surpassed Mitchell's record score, which had remained for three years. Mitchell regained his title in July, and Wiebe surpassed his score in September 2010. But Chien, who became known as Dr. Kong, reclaimed the world record and ultimately held the title for four years. Chien would go on to improve his record score four more times. Chien has since withdrawn from competitive play.

In September 2014, Robbie Lakeman overtook Chien for the highest score. Lakeman had practiced for two and a half years and was spurred by a bet that he could earn a score within the game's top twenty. He would often stream his attempts live on Twitch, a streaming service, though his initial world record game was performed offline. At the time, a higher record had been set by Dean Saglio, but on an emulated version of the game rather than a physical arcade cabinet. Lakeman later overtook his own record in December 2014 and again in June 2015.

In September 2015, Wes Copeland bested Lakeman for the high score. Lakeman, however, was able to reclaim the record within six hours. Copeland retook the record in January 2016. Shortly after, Lakeman announced his withdrawal from competitive play.

The rapper Eminem has reported his own score (465,800) within the top 30 worldwide, though with increasing competition this score would now sit outside the top 100.


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